So I don’t like rankings. I think they’re dumb. Because match-ups make fights… game plans make fights. And everyone has a punchers chance of winning.
That being said, people have been hammering me on Twitter, about where I rank Rory Macdonald… where does Dan Henderson sit? Who’s behind Jose Aldo?

So begrudgingly, I give you my first Rohoman’s Rankings.

Heavyweight (265lbs Limit)

1. Junior dos Santos
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Frank Mir
4. Josh Barnett
5. Shane Carwin
6. Daniel Cormier
7. Fabricio Werdum
8. Antonio Silva
9. Travis Browne
10. Mark Hunt

Note: Alistair Overeem would have been in the top-5 if he didn’t fail a random drug test

Light-Heavyweight (205lbs limit)

1. Jon Jones
2. Rashad Evans
3. Dan Henderson
4. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Ryan Bader
7. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
8. Phil Davis
9. Alexander Gustafsson
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Note: Gegard Mousasi is on a lot of people’s top 10 lists. But due to the lack of top-level competition he’s faced and a draw against Keith Jardine, he does not crack my list.

Middleweight (185lbs limit)

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Michael Bisping
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Mark Munoz
6. Brian Stann
7. Tim Hague
8. Chris Weidman
9. Yushin Okami
10. Luke Rockhold

Honourable mention: Rousimar Palhares

Welterweight (170lbs limit)

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Carlos Condit
3. Jake Ellenberger
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Johnny Hendricks
6. Jake Shields
7. Jon Fitch
8. Diego Sanchez
9. Martin Kampmann
10. Nick Diaz

Note: I keep Nick Diaz in my top-10 because his positive drug test for marijuana following his loss to Carlos Condit is still being debated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. A suspension drops him out of the rankings. A ruling in Diaz’ favour will bring him back up them.

Even though I think Rory Macdonald beats most of the guys on this list, he hasn’t fought top-10 competition yet. So he doesn’t make my top-10 quite yet.

Lightweight (155lbs limit)

1. Ben Henderson
2. Frankie Edgar
3. Gilbert Melendez
4. Gray Maynard
5. Anthony Pettis
6. Jim Miller
7. Eddie Alvarez
8. Clay Guida
9. Michael Chandler
10. Nate Diaz

Note: I feel Gilbert Melendez is the best 155 pounder in the world, but until he makes the jump to the UFC and takes out Edgar and Bendo, he stays at 3.

Featherweight (145lbs limit)

1. Jose Aldo
2. Hatsu Hioki
3. Chad Mendes
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Eric Koch
6. Pat Curran
7. Chan Sun Jung
8. Kenny Florian
9. Dennis Siver
10. Marlon Sandro

Note: Six of the top-10 will compete in the next three months.

Bantamweight (135lbs limit)

1. Dominck Cruz
2. Urijah Faber
3. Renan Barao
4. Brian Bowles
5. Michael Mcdonald
6. Bibiano Fernandes
7. Scott Jorgensen
8. Brad Pickett
9. Eduardo Dantas
10. Miguel Torres

Note: I have a soft spot for Dream Champ Bibiano Fernandes… because he fights out of Vancouver (my old stomping grounds). Plus he’s awesome.

Flyweight (125lbs limit)

1. Ian McCall
2. Demetrious Johnson
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Jussiero da Silva
5. Yasuhiro Urushitani
6. Shinichi “BJ” Kojima
7. Darrell Montague
8. Mitsuhisa Sunabe
9. Mamoru Yamaguchi
10. Dustin Ortiz

So there you have it… agree? Disagree? Hit me up on Twitter.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 at 8:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.